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Almost one year ago, a God of War: Ragnarok trailer was released. The trailer gave a sneak peek at what the updated combat in the game would look like. Now, two months before its release, new information regarding God of War: Ragnarok's updated combat system is revealed. Read on to know more about what you can expect from God of War: Ragnarok's combat.
In an interview with Game Informer, lead combat designers Mihir Sheth and Denny Yeh mentioned that they wanted to give Kratos the ability to “play with his food”. This is reflected in the combat updates that were shown.
God of War: Ragnarok weapon changes
In the previous game, the Triangle button was used to recall the axe when thrown. Other than that, it served no purpose. Now, in Ragnarok, it is the key control for one of the game's new combat features: Weapon Signature Moves. When pressed, Kratos' weapons are imbued with a specific element. The Leviathan Axe gets infused with ice, while the Blades of Chaos are covered in fire. Once imbued with the element, they unleash powerful area-of-attack moves called Frost Awaken and Whiplash. These attacks serve to clear out multiple enemies all at once. This was the team's way of updating the game's controls, while at the same time adding something new to Kratos' arsenal. These elemental infusions also apply to some of Kratos' attacks, like his axe throw and his drop attacks.
The changes do not stop there, of course. As can be seen in the trailer, the Blades of Chaos can also be used as a grappling hook, allowing Kratos to relocate and engage the enemy from a different angle. They can also be used to pull enemies towards Kratos or pull Kratos towards them. This is in line with the team's vision of letting the players have fun with how they dispatch enemies. Having this much mobility opens up new ways to defeat enemies that the player can discover.
God of War: Ragnarok shield changes
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Another group of changes that are coming is with regards to the shields. In the 2018 God of War game, Kratos only had one shield: the Guardian Shield. This shield would serve as a way for Kratos to mitigate some damage. It could absorb attacks, and even reflect some of them (more specifically projectiles). In Ragnarok, however, the player now has access to two shields: the Dauntless shield, and the Stonewall shield.
The Dauntless shield is a light shield that is designed for parrying attacks. Players who enjoy the thrill of timing counters and parries can run this shield in the game. When Kratos successfully parries an attack, they can immediately follow it up with a devastating attack that stuns enemies. The Stonewall shield, on the other hand, is for those who like to tank attacks, preferring instead to just hold the shield up to absorb the attacks. Of course, absorbing attacks isn't the only thing the Stonewall shield can do. Once it has absorbed enough attacks, it can release a powerful area-of-effect attack that knocks enemies back. The downside of this shield is that the more damage it absorbs, the less effective it becomes at blocking. The player has to balance out each shield's strengths and weaknesses to match their playstyle.
Whether or not there are other combat changes that the team has in store for us, only time will tell. With just these changes, however, we can already tell that we are in for a wild ride in the upcoming game.
For other details about God of War: Ragnarok, like its release date, click here.
